


Rebound

by hollisvee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angry Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper Friendship, BAMF Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper & Veronica Lodge Friendship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Ghoulies, Jughead Jones & Toni Topaz Friendship, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Light Angst, Post-Break Up, Reggie Mantle is a Good Friend, Sad Betty Cooper, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollisvee/pseuds/hollisvee
Summary: When Jughead breaks up with Betty for her protection, everything backfires when she walks straight into danger anyway.Based on a lot of songs.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Rebound

**Author's Note:**

> i had an idea that i couldn't shake off, so i had to write it. just betty and jughead, post-breakup. ended up being way longer than i intended.

Jughead felt horrible about the manner in which he had broken it off with Betty.

She hadn't deserved it, not one bit. In fact, Betty had been very accepting of his Serpent lifestyle. She let him do anything, as long as he was stayed safe. Betty had no problem with him associating with Serpents, like the rest of Riverdale. He didn't know if that was because Veronica was dating Sweet Pea, or if because she just really did love him that much. He assumed the latter.

The one thing Betty had made him promise, is that he would be honest with her if he got into trouble, and if he needed help. He made Betty promise that if danger was involved, she wouldn't associate herself with it. 

So, he broke up with her first. He broke up with her because of Penny, damn Penny. 

Penny had mentioned her name in a diner, causing his blood to boil as he tried to think of any way he could ensure Betty's safety. He was only able to come up with one way that would be the most likely to keep her safe from the rival gang, and it broke his heart.

He figured it was like ripping off a band-aid, the faster he did it, the less it would hurt. For some godforsaken reason, he decided that would be better than waiting or just informing her. If he told her though, he was scared she'd drag herself into it, she'd want to be involved. He couldn't risk having her involved.

"Betty! What happened?" Veronica frowns deeply when Betty shows up at her door, eyes big and red with tears, lip trembling with either anger or sadness, or both. Betty was excited that night, she had facetimed Veronica while she did her makeup and straightened her hair, which she rarely did.

"He broke up with me." Betty's voice trembles, but it still comes out strong, despite the little dark circles from mascara beneath her eyes as her jaw clenches and unclenches, shoulders tense.

Veronica's lips part in shock, pulling Betty into the apartment. "Oh my god, B." Compassionately pulling her best friend into a hug, Veronica finds herself angry. Why would Jughead break up with Betty so unexpectedly?

"Was there a reason why? Do you know?" Veronica's questions are slowly asked and Betty sniffles hard, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I don't know, he just told me he couldn't see me anymore and I had to leave." Betty chokes out, the wiping of her tears ineffective against the new ones hotly cascading down her pink cheeks.

"What a dick!" Veronica huffs. "I'm sorry." She squeezes Betty's arm before leading her to the couch. 

"V, I don't want your mom to see me like this," Betty admits, thinking about the embarrassment of Veronica's mother seeing her crying in their living room.

"She isn't home," Veronica assures, boiling anger simmering against her, threatening to spill. She could kill Jughead, honestly. Betty had been more than an amazing girlfriend to him for the past year.

"Here, I'll go make you some hot chocolate, it's freezing outside and you showed up to the Southside in that! You have to be below zero." Veronica frets, returning to the kitchen to grab hot chocolate packets and mugs for both of them. "Thanks." Betty weakly replies, sniffing hard once more before wiping her salty tears again.

A week later, Betty was just mad.

After having time to think about it, she really was furious.

In the beginning, she just put her anger into studying really, really hard for her upcoming tests and classes. Archie had suggested this, saying it'd be much healthier than slashing Jughead's tires. (Veronica's suggestion.)

Also, it'd be healthier than getting with another guy and having 'hot sex.' (Veronica's other suggestion, seconded by Reggie.)

"Post a photo of you in a bikini! Like, really hot, showing all of those curves." Veronica winked, and Betty looked slightly disturbed but interested.

"It's January, Veronica." Archie sighs.

"So? I have a hot tub!" Veronica defends quickly, and Reggie's eyes light up. "Could I borrow it? There's this really hot girl I met at Pops and-"

"Back on topic." Betty interrupts, and Reggie shuts up quickly.

They never came to a solution, and they all went home when it got late. However, Betty found her own solution, which she decided against informing Veronica, Reggie, and Archie about until she actually did it. That way, they couldn't stop her.

The next morning, Betty woke up with a plan, eyes lit up.

There was one thing that would for sure piss Jughead off, infuriate him, in fact. Make him feel like she did right now.

The Serpents had many enemies, the Northside being one in itself, but they had one key enemy, one that Jughead had briefly told Betty to avoid.

Ghoulies.

The day passed fairly quickly, Saturday night already arriving as Betty finally called Veronica, not giving her much more info than telling her that she needed to raid her closet.

"So what's the reason you're here?" Veronica asks, and Betty chews her lip nervously before releasing it. "I need to ask you for a few favors, and I can't tell you why yet. I just need you to let me have them, then I'll tell you. You have to promise not to try to stop me."

Veronica hesitates, then decides whatever Betty is doing can't be that bad, so nods. "As long as it doesn't involve murder, abduction, or otherwise, I agree."

"Great! I need to borrow your driver for the night, your clothes, and a gun that your dad has. And I need to be able to say I'm under the protection of your father." Betty chirps, trying to pretend it's cool, and Veronica chuckles.

"First off, you're already under Lodge protection and have been for a while. I made my dad put you on the list, and the rest is done, except for the gun." Veronica shrugs. "But I need to know why."

"I'm going to the Ghoulies headquarters, and I need a gun, in case things go bad," Betty admits, finally. Veronica inhales sharply, thoughtful. "Betty, do you know how dangerous that is?"

"No, actually. Jughead lied to me about it. So, no. I do not know how dangerous it is. And no, I do not need to know. I have a pretty good idea now that he's broken up with me." Betty bitterly replies, looking off distantly.

"Well, I have a good idea too. I don't want to let you go there and be the one who lets you get hurt." Veronica shakes her head, objecting to the idea. "You won't be, it'll be my fault," Betty assures.

Veronica finally gives in, giving her driver strict orders on what to allow Betty to do, and if the Ghoulies don't let her go, to inform her so she can warn everyone about Betty's defiance, despite Betty's orders.

Veronica reluctantly dresses Betty in a short black skirt, and a black button-up blouse with flowy sleeves, along with black stockings with a pocket knife in them.

She straightened Betty's hair and did a light smoky eye, just to make Betty look more dangerous, harder to mess with. A girl not even Jughead would try to mess with. And using information from Veronica, she gave her driver strict orders to send Betty to Ghoulie headquarters, a small bar near a warehouse far from the Southside.

Betty in heels, her hair held back by a black headband, even Veronica was slightly scared of her. "You look so hot, those Ghoulies will be terrified."

The drive with the tinted windows made Betty feel powerful like she had all the power. Not just over Jughead himself, but the world.

"Thanks, Andre." Betty politely smiles, and he nods. "Please, be careful, Betty." 

"I will, I'm armed and dangerous." Betty winks and he chuckles. "Good luck out there."

Her heels click against hard cement, just her walk feeling dangerous as she stands outside of the bar, similar to the Serpents, with apartments on top and flashing lights on top, a small smirk on her face. Betty feels her body tense a little but reminds herself that this was all to defy Jughead, nothing more. If he was going to lie to her, break up with her, and make her feel like shit, she could do the same. Cause and effect, or something like that.

"Well! Look who showed up!" A male voice calls from the corner of the bar, leaned against a wall, smoking a cigarette. "Turning yourself in, huh?"

In a Ghoulie Jacket, a slim and tall man with curly dark hair appears as if from nowhere, his shirt unbuttoned. "You're Jughead's girl, Penny told me about you. He was obviously checking her out from head to toe, a small smirk appearing on his face. 

"I come in peace," Betty replies, hands up in mock surrender. "Also, I'm not Jughead's girl anymore."

Malachi chuckles at this. "Always knew those snakes couldn't satisfy their women, hm?" 

Betty needed danger right now, she didn't have to have sex with him or anything, but she needed to be with someone that she knew would for sure piss Jughead off. She doesn't reply to the comment, just crossed her arms.

"How did Jones land you, anyway?" 

"I wouldn't know, he broke up with me." Betty's jaw clenches at the mention of their break up, even though she's the one saying it. Malachi seems even more surprised.

"So, he doesn't know you're here?"

"No, actually. But be careful, Malachi, I presume?" Betty asks, him slowly approaching her, looking at her like she was a piece of meat, a predatory gaze in his eyes. "Yeah, you got him."

"I'm under the protection of Hiram Lodge, so anything you try to do to me, you'll pay for," Betty warns, her eyes twinkling with a danger that made Malachi invite her straight into the bar.

"Hey, Ronnie, what's up?" Archie asks as he enters the Pembrooke with Reggie before glancing around. "Where's Betty?" Veronica smiles, sitting on the big information she couldn't wait to tell the boys.

"Oh, nowhere. Just somewhere near Greendale, wherever the Ghoulies headquarters are, I presume." Veronica has a mischievous smile, but she doesn't get the reaction she had been waiting for. Instead, Archie's face falls and he swallows hard, accompanied by a glance from Reggie.

"Okay, Veronica, I'm being dead serious right now. Call Jughead right now, and tell him where Betty is." Archie slowly says, and Veronica nervously laughs. "The whole point of her going there is so Jughead can't talk to her, silly." 

"Veronica, what you've somehow allowed Betty to do is extraordinarily dangerous, and you definitely should not have done that. Call Jughead. I'm serious, I'm not playing games." Archie's tone makes Veronica realize that he is very serious, so she sighs, reluctantly giving in to the redhead. 

"I couldn't call Jughead if I wanted to, _Archie_. He blocked my number because of apparently what is considered 'harassment.' I think personally, he's just a sore loser." Veronica is cut off by Archie again, who is increasingly getting more stressed about the whole situation. "Veronica, call Sweet Pea then."

"But why? It's not like a huge deal." Veronica shrugs it off, but the tension still rests on her shoulders. Reggie looks concerned, but still doesn't speak, his lips pressed together as he looks to Archie for an answer. "Well?" Veronica huffs again, but the tremble in her voice betrays her persuasion.

"I can't explain it to you, because I promised Jughead. But you have to call Sweet Pea. Jughead won't be mad at Betty, he'll want to help. Please, call him." Archie says, and Reggie nods in agreement. "Yeah, Archie's probably right. Jughead would rather help Betty than hurt her."

Veronica finally did so, and Sweet Pea's tone was very frustrated and angry on the other end of the line. His tone frantic, he ordered Veronica and her friends to get to the Whyte Wyrm immediately, where she would be forced to tell Jughead in person. She was embarrassed, for letting Betty go off on her own into a trap, essentially.

Arriving twenty-something minutes later, Veronica hung her head shamefully as she entered the bar. Once again, just for jokes, she allowed Betty to be naive and had let Betty's festering anger get the best of her. In the end, none of it would matter, as long as Betty was back home and safe tonight.

Jughead sits in a booth, he was obviously tired. Different than the last Veronica had seen him, dark circles beneath his eyes and untouched soda sitting in front of him as the music plays in the background of his thoughts. He might as well a Keep Out sign on his head because nothing about him invited Veronica towards him.

He knows it's Veronica the second he hears heels click at a fast rate towards him. Perking up, his eyebrows furrow in confusion at her presence, then frustration at Veronica's arrival. He had specifically told Sweet Pea he wanted no business talking to Veronica after he and Betty ended things. Yet here Veronica was, in the flesh, looking more guilty than angry. "Here we go." He mumbles under his breath.

"Veronica, if you want to hit me so badly, can you please pick a different day? Right now is actually really, really inconvenient." His sarcasm burns her, already exasperated as he stares at her. 

"Is it? Good to see you too, Jughead." Veronica huffs, crossing her arms before Sweet Pea nudges her in a rough manner. "Veronica, tell him right now."

"Oh, he'll love this." Reggie sarcastically whispers loudly to Archie, who looks just as frustrated. Jughead, catching the whisper snaps his attention to the boys. "What are you talking about? Veronica, why are you really here?" Deep down, he already knew it was about Betty. Otherwise, Veronica wouldn't have shown up, and nor would her two goons who were practically her and Betty's bodyguards.

Veronica tries to find words to explain the situation. "I don't know how to word this, but I kind of gave Betty some outfits tonight so she could go do something." Veronica nervously begins explaining, watching Jughead practically flinch at her name being said aloud. No one had said anything about their breakup to him since it actually happened.

"Veronica, say it." Sweet Pea scolds, and she shamefully diverts eye contact with Jughead, who is anticipating the next words, clenching his jaw for a moment before releasing it. "I let Betty go to the Ghoulies headquarters." Veronica finally blurts, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders for just a moment, before it falls right back onto her when she catches Jughead's furious eyes.

"You let Betty do _what_?" Jughead asks slowly, his eyebrows creasing again as he denies it's even real. He had a million different questions, most of which he could find the answer to relatively easy if he just put some thought to it, but his mind was going a million miles per hour. Crossing his arms and exhaling hot air, he tilts his head back. "Okay." He says to himself.

"Why did she go? And how long ago?" He asks the important questions first, seeing Veronica hesitates her movements, glancing off before looking back at Jughead. "She left to defy you, to make you mad. She got in the car about forty-five minutes to an hour ago." Veronica's eyes meet the corner of his, hoping it made him feel a little bad. She didn't deserve all the blame, he was the idiot he broke up with Betty in the first place.

Jughead eventually storms off to find Toni at the bar, cleaning glasses before they closed for the night. "Why is Veronica Lodge here?" Is her first question, glancing up and over at the raven-haired girl, who is pacing the room nervously, and muttering something to Sweet Pea occasionally.

"Because Betty did something," Jughead mutters, and Toni smirks. "Awe, did she piss you off? What's she done? Do winged eyeliner? Dye her hair black? Wear a black sweater?" Toni dismisses Jughead as overdramatic, rolling her eyes as she focuses her attention back on the glass she's cleaning.

"Toni, Betty went to the Ghoulies."

Toni's head shoots up. "No way, oh my god!" She gasps, smiling to herself subtly. "She's kind of badass for that though," Toni admits, knowing it'll piss him off worse. "Toni! Are you missing the point completely? We have to get her out." Jughead is getting increasingly annoyed by his friends, who were terrible at taking a hint.

Finally, everyone prepares to get Betty out.

After following Malachi into the bar, Betty keeps a close eye on him as he guides her to a blonde woman, her hair in messy blonde waves with bangs, blue eyes following Betty with a cocked brow. "Is that Betty Cooper?" She asks, and Malachi nods behind Betty as Penny snorts. "Are you some kind of idiot, ponytail?"

"How do you know my name?" Betty asks her head tilting, hands resting on her hips, Malachi and the blonde woman shield her from the crowd. 

Instead of replying, the blonde woman outstretches a hand. "I'm Penny Peabody."

"Nice to meet you." Betty politely replies, ignoring the strong booze stench practically radiating off of Penny, trying not to twitch her nose at the smell. Penny looked dirty, those were the only words for it. She eyed Betty up and down, before asking the question Betty felt coming.

"Jughead doesn't know you've come here, does he?" She asks, a dark smile on her face as she tilts her head curiously. "Jughead and I aren't together, actually. Crazy how I come here to get away from him, and all you people can do is talk about him." Betty is annoyed. Penny quickly notices her tone and makes a 'hmph' noise, her eyes meeting Malachi's.

"If you don't want to discuss him, you don't have to. I'll leave you alone." Penny shrugs, seemingly trying to seem uninterested, but hell must have frozen over if Betty Cooper walked into a Ghoulie bar with the intention to party. Either this was a trap set up by the Serpents or Betty was actually that naive to believe she could stumble on in. 

Betty walks off, returning to the dance floor, leaving Malachi and Penny behind as they exchange eye contact. "Get her restrained. I can't believe Jones never warned her." Penny whispers, taking another hard shot after the sentence, followed by a whoop. "I'll be on it," Malachi replies quietly.

He decides they have no time to waste before someone notices and ruins his plan, so he pulls Betty aside. "Hey, do you want a tour of the garage? We have much more... expensive taste in cars than the Serpents. I think you'd love it." His tone is intriguing, and Betty wants to give in, but she's smarter than that. 

"No, I think I'll stay here." Betty believes her tone of voice has settled the decision, but he grabs her arm roughly. "No, I don't think you will." His voice is venomous. "You're going to come with me, it doesn't matter if you scream. Everyone in this bar has a bounty on your head, blondie." 

Feeling cold steel against her side, which she can only assume is a gun, she lets out a shuttering breath. "I'm worth more to you alive than I am dead. Without me, you'll never know about the Serpent's plan." Her reply is bold, and she's bluffing. She doesn't know if the Serpents have a plan. She would have if Jughead were honest with her. But that's a lost cause.

Her movements are slow and precise, she prepares a plan for the door. Betty decides her options are dying, either way, so she decides that the odds of running for the door and being gunned down or being beat to death, the door has better chances.

Betty's hand slowly slips to the edge of her skirt, finding the top of her stockings, and the thin blade of the knife. Once again, being cut by a knife over being beat to death. Inhaling deeply, trying to find the courage, grabs it in one quick motion, slicing at Malachi's shoulder as he screams out, letting her go immediately.

Running in her heels, she shoves Ghoulies out of the way before they even know what's going on, the door practically swinging off its hinges as she ran down the street, not stopping, especially after she heard Malachi yell. "Don't let that bitch getaway!"

She heard their trucks come down the road minutes later, so she dove into the woods, hiding from the headlights as she lets out a squeaking sound, tripping over her heels. When she has a moment without adrenaline, she finally feels the pain in her thigh, where she had hit herself with the blade trying to pull it out to get Malachi. "Shit!" She whisper-yells, the stinging making her fall against a tree, hissing in pain.

Minutes later, there's a rumbling sound, one Betty quickly identifies as motorcycles. Meaning whoever it was, wasn't the Ghoulies. Peeking from the treeline, she watches as three motorcycles zoom by, immediately identifying who it was by the Snake coiled up on the back. "Dang it!" Betty cries out carelessly, she had missed her ride.

"Where's Betty?" Jughead demands when he arrives outside of the bar, not surprised to see Malachi and his line of goons standing there, arms crossed. "I thought you left her?" Malachi questions, his tone bitter, staring down Jughead. "We don't want trouble, where is she?" Veronica echoes Jughead, held back by Sweet Pea.

"Your whore got away." Malachi reluctantly admits, pointing to the search party of trucks returning with stone faces. "We haven't been able to find her, and she's lucky she did, or else she'd have a bullet in her head right about now." Malachi hisses, continuing into Jughead's face.

The second Toni spots his fist curling up, she grabs him and stands in between the groups. "Okay, we're going now." She says for everyone, deciding they don't need to be here. They need to find Betty before Malachi does.

Meanwhile, Betty walks the edge of the road, using her phone to try and navigate using the Compass app and what her mom had taught her, she didn't have service on these backroads between Greendale and Riverdale, so she had to wing it or hope they drove by again. Not to mention, she looked straight out of a horror movie.

Ripped black stockings, blood trickling down her leg from the long cut in her thigh, dirt on her cheek, mascara smeared, and hair tangled now. Carrying her heels in her hand, she looks like she either has just buried a bodybag or climbed out of one. She walks for another few minutes, feet aching.

Finally, she hears the rumble of motorcycles, turning around, she waves her arms up. "Hey! Stop!" She screams with her raw voice, they zoom past her. 

Just as she thought she was screwed and was going to spend all night walking back to Riverdale, she finally saw them slow down ahead of her. "Thank god." Betty cries to herself, relief taking her body over for a moment, numbing it as happy tears well in her eyes. The figures hop off the motorcycles.

"Betty!" A voice yells, she immediately recognizes it as Veronicas, followed by Veronica's heels clicking as she runs towards her. "Oh my god, B!" Before she can object, arms wrap her tightly in a hug, inconsiderate of the dirt and blood. 

When Betty finally is released, she's dizzy from the running and everything, plus the pain, when she see's Jughead, her eyes soften. He has difficulty swallowing again, seeing her. He wants to wrap her up in his arms and carry her away bridal-style from the whole mess, but he knows Betty would be very much against the idea, her arms crossing defensively across her chest.

He drives her to his apartment above the Wyrm, next to his own fathers. He can feel her arms tight around him on the drive there, her head pressed against his back. He feels her wince with each bump, he would apologize but the wind trumps all, too loud to hear anything. Her fingers occasionally trace something on his waist, before she squeezes him for a moment, bracing for more bumps in the road.

"Veronica could have just taken me." Betty objects as she walks to the elevator with him, heels still in her hand as he rolls his eyes. "And what would she do?"

"I don't know, her dad probably has seen a gunshot wound or two." Betty tries to lighten the tension, but Jughead seems angry with her. It makes her angry. He has no right to be mad at her, she could make her own decisions. The elevator ride is quiet, as he practically ties her down to the toilet emotionally, kicking her leg up to look at the wound.

His hand pushes her skirt up, pulling her stocking down to look at the gash, the knife had cut decently deep, luckily she didn't lose much blood. As he pulls down the stocking, his eyes meet hers. "Can I?" He asks quietly, and she trembles, her pulse racing as she presses her lips together tightly and nods.

She means to say the word 'yeah,' but it never leaves her lips. Almost as if she is too afraid to say it. Her eyes divert from his, too afraid to look into them. "Why did you do it?" He scoffed, looking at her with so much disappointment. Betty couldn't read him tonight, but she could safely assume he was really mad and sad.

"I wanted to have fun." She reveals, eyes settling on her gash, watching the crimson blood dry up as Jughead cleans it, wincing hard as he glares at her. "Don't look at it." He mumbles, pushing her chin back up as her pulse races faster as he cleans it, debating on if he should wrap it or not, or if they should risk an infection.

"Why would you go into a bar where there's a bounty on your head, wanted dead or alive?" He snaps up, basically prying the answers from the blonde, her fingers gripping the edge of the toilet in the dim light, biting her tongue until she could almost feel blood well up. 

"If my boyfriend had told me a rival gang wanted me dead, I probably wouldn't have shown up," Betty whispers sarcastically, almost a hiss off of the top of her tongue as she turns her head away again. "I was trying to protect you." He looks back up at her. "That went well, then, didn't it?" Betty continues her sarcasm.

"I never meant to hurt you, Betts." His words are sincere as he rests his hands on her thighs, genuine concern lacing his tone as he shakes his head. "Don't call me Betts, you can't leave me and then call me Betts." The tremble in her voice hurts him, his fingers resting hard against her skin, an attempt to calm her and steady her.

"You know you want me to, why are you pretending you don't want to get back together?" He begs for an answer, and she clenches her jaw. "Because you lied to me." She retorts quickly.

"You lied to me, and told me you wouldn't get hurt."

"You lied first!" Betty finally yells, shaking her head. "You lied to me first. Then you broke up with me. If you break up with me, I have no obligation to keep your bullshit promises that don't mean anything."

"Betty, you could have called me." Jughead stands, looking down on her now. This makes her angrier, so she stands, inches away from his face. "Sometimes you have to learn to keep your head up on your own. My mother taught me the Cooper way of doing things, and no matter how much I hate that phrase, it's engraved in me."

"You can do whatever you want, Betty. Hide behind a stupid reason, say you wanted to have fun, say that's why you went. We both know that isn't the truth. You can search for a different answer, but the thing is, there isn't one. So say the real reason out loud, right now." Jughead rants and Betty's shoulders fall in defeat. He is right.

She didn't do that to 'have fun.'

"I wanted you back." Betty crumbles, lip trembling as she bites it to stop it, her voice quiet. "Are you happy now?"

Jughead scans her face, her long eyelashes, smeared mascara beneath her eyes, dirt caked onto her cheek as she looks back at him, green emerald eyes twinkling with a thought. She never says it aloud.

"I know how people are, Betty. I know how those Ghoulies act, I know what they think. You walked straight into what I was trying to hide from you. And I know what I did was wrong, but I thought it was best for us. I never wanted you to get hurt, I just wanted you to be safe." He finally admits, his hand creeping up her cheek as he settles her back down onto the edge of the toilet seat. "I didn't think you'd be able to comprehend it, how much danger you were in."

"I do now." She chuckles sadly, tilting her head up into his hand willingly. "I couldn't stop thinking about it, Jug. It ate me up inside, wondering what I had done wrong. I couldn't stand it, and in the end, it didn't matter how many hateful things I thought up, or even if I screamed into a pillow."

"Why?" Jughead asks, knowing the answer before she says it.

"Because I still loved you, even though I hated you."

Jughead shakes his head. "Just kiss me already, Cooper."

She doesn't hesitate, her lips connecting into his passionately. His fingers entangle into her blonde hair carelessly, cupping the back of her neck and pulling her into him desperately. A reminder that she was very real, and that she was okay. Being able to feel her lips against his, proving she was reality. His reality.

He could feel her cold skin, warming it with his own from the chill outside, especially in the woods.

She'd linger far after she left.


End file.
